Node.js 26 Set to Become LTS on October 28, 2026 as Node.js Moves to One Major Release a Year

Node.js 26 was released on May 5, 2026, according to the Node.js 26.0.0 release post, and the project's published schedule has it becoming a long-term support (LTS) version on October 28, 2026. It is also the last version that follows the release pattern Node.js has used for about a decade. From Node.js 27 onward, the project is moving to one major version a year.

Node.js is the runtime that executes JavaScript on servers. It powers a large number of APIs, web application backends and build tools, so its support calendar decides when the software your business runs stops receiving security fixes. If your product depends on Node.js development, this autumn has several dates worth putting in the diary.

What is in Node.js 26

The release post highlights three changes. First, the Temporal API is enabled by default. Temporal is a modern way of handling dates and times in JavaScript, which the Node.js team describes as a more robust alternative to the older Date object. Date and time-zone bugs are a common source of errors in booking, billing and reporting systems, so this is a practical improvement for developers.

Second, the V8 JavaScript engine is updated to version 14.6, which the post says is part of Chromium 146 and brings some newer JavaScript language features. Third, Undici, the HTTP client built in to Node.js that is used when your server calls other services, is updated to version 8.

As a major version, Node.js 26 also removes some things. The post lists the removal of an old method on the HTTP server and several legacy internal stream modules, the runtime deprecation of module.register(), and the removal of an experimental flag for transforming TypeScript. It also raises the requirements for compiling Node.js from source. Most applications will not use these directly, but older third-party packages sometimes do, which is why testing matters.

The dates that matter in October 2026 and after

The Node.js Release working group maintains a machine-readable schedule file, which the project names as the up-to-date record of its support commitments. As read on October 4, 2026, it gives these dates:

• Node.js 20 reached end of life on April 30, 2026. It no longer receives fixes from the project.
• Node.js 22 is in maintenance and reaches end of life on April 30, 2027.
• Node.js 24 moves from active LTS to maintenance on October 20, 2026, and reaches end of life on April 30, 2028.
• Node.js 26 becomes LTS on October 28, 2026, enters maintenance on October 20, 2027, and reaches end of life on April 30, 2029.

The October 2026 dates are scheduled, not yet in effect at the time of writing, and the project notes that its dates can change. Until October 28, Node.js 26 has "Current" status. The Node.js releases page advises that production applications should use only Active LTS or Maintenance LTS versions.

Node.js 27 and the move to one major release a year

In its post Evolving the Node.js Release Schedule, the project explains that, starting with Node.js 27, it will go from two major releases a year to one. Under the old model, even-numbered versions became LTS and odd-numbered versions were short-lived. Under the new model there is a major release each April, it is promoted to LTS each October, and every version becomes LTS. The post states that Node.js 26 is the last release line under the existing model.

The reasons given are straightforward. The project says odd-numbered releases saw minimal adoption, that the odd and even distinction confused newcomers, and that Node.js is maintained primarily by volunteers, for whom running security releases across many active lines had become hard to sustain.

The new alpha channel

The early-testing role of odd-numbered releases passes to a new alpha channel. The post says alpha releases run for six months, may include breaking changes, and are meant for library authors and automated test pipelines, not for production use. The schedule file lists the Node.js 27 alpha phase as starting on October 28, 2026, and the first full Node.js 27 release on April 22, 2027, with end of life on April 30, 2030.

What stays the same

According to the announcement, LTS support stays at about 30 months, giving 36 months in total from a version's first Current release to its end of life. The overlap between LTS versions, which gives teams time to migrate, is preserved. Version numbers will also line up with the calendar year: 27 in 2027, 28 in 2028.

What this means for your business

This section is our guidance, not a statement from the Node.js project.

The most pressing point concerns Node.js 20. If any of your applications still run on it, they have been without project security fixes since April 30, 2026. Running an unsupported runtime is a risk in its own right, and it can also become a problem in security questionnaires, cyber insurance reviews and customer audits. Your hosting or cloud provider may also set its own retirement dates for old runtimes, so check their documentation as well.

Node.js 22 is the next one to watch. An end of life date of April 30, 2027 sounds distant, but an upgrade needs testing time and a slot in the roadmap, so it belongs in budget planning for early 2027.

The schedule change itself is good news for planning. The project's own summary is that if you already upgrade only to LTS versions, little changes beyond version numbering. One major version a year, on a fixed April and October rhythm, makes it easier to set a recurring annual upgrade task instead of reacting to deadlines.

What to do next

Start by asking your development team or vendor which Node.js version each application, background service and build pipeline uses. It is common for the main application to be current while a forgotten script or internal tool runs something older.

For anything on Node.js 20 or earlier, plan a move to a supported LTS version now. Node.js 24 is the established LTS line today. Once Node.js 26 is promoted to LTS, it becomes the version with the longest remaining support, and a reasonable target for new projects after your team has confirmed that your dependencies and hosting platform support it. Moving across major versions means running your full test suite, because of the removals described above.

Finally, agree a simple policy: stay on an LTS version, and schedule one runtime upgrade review each year. With the new cadence, that single review should be enough to stay inside the support window.

Conclusion

Node.js 26 arrived on May 5, 2026 with the Temporal API enabled by default and an updated engine, and it is scheduled to become LTS on October 28, 2026 with support running to April 30, 2029. It closes out the old release model: from Node.js 27, there will be one major version a year and every version will become LTS. Meanwhile, Node.js 20 is already out of support and Node.js 22 follows in April 2027.

If you need help working out which versions your systems run and what an upgrade would involve, you can request a quote and outline your current setup.